Formula One news

Kimi says 'Buongiorno' to Ferrari

"Buongiorno a tutti" were Kimi Raikkonen's first official words as a Ferrari driver when he addressed journalists at the Madonna di Campiglio press meeting in Italy today. It earned him a round of applause as members of the press perhaps compared him to his predecessor, Michael Schumacher, who managed the same words after several years!

Everyone, of course, wanted to know how Kimi was handling the transformation from McLaren driver to Ferrari driver, from the silver of what is perceived as the austere combination of McLaren and Mercedes to the red of the most legendary team in Formula One.

"When I first went to the factory and for the test I noticed the atmosphere is different, is very good," said the Finn. "It's more like a family feeling, even if people are working as hard as they can, doing their best, it's very relaxed and the people are easy to work with so I was very happy and that's really what I expected and what I heard before, so I only have positive things to say. For sure, it's very different from McLaren. For me, it's only going in a positive way, so it's been very pleasant."

Even the Ferrari colour suits him. "I think red is more warm for sure. It's very nice. I like the style of the team, with everything. Of course it is a bit special to wear the Ferrari clothing for the first time and the racing suit is new and exciting. It's always nice."

Kimi certainly looked in good form, and was more relaxed than has been the case in the past. "I was taking things easy at home at Christmas. I haven't had much else to do. It's the most time that you have for those things and I don't know if I've done more or less, I don't count it. I do what I like to do and I think I'm in good shape and that's the only thing that matters.

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